At the Gulf Coast Leadership Institute (GCLI), growth begins in conversation. Questions linger just long enough to invite honesty. A comment from across the room reframes a challenge in an unexpected way. Laughter gives way to reflection as participants jot down insights they don’t want to lose. The experience is built on balance, with hands-on exchange paired with personal reflection. Participants leave the program with stronger connections and a renewed sense of purpose. 

An initiative of Gulf Coast Community Foundation (Gulf Coast), GCLI has spent two decades cultivating more than 425 local leaders who reflect the diversity, complexity, and promise of the region and carry that growth forward into their communities. 

The program traces its origins to 2006, when Gulf Coast launched the North Port Leadership Institute in response to rapid population growth and shifting community dynamics. As new residents arrived and needs evolved, the moment called for leaders equipped to guide change with intention. The first two cohorts launched, and following interest from neighboring communities, the program transformed into the Gulf Coast Leadership Institute that encouraged participation region-wide. A decade later, a partnership with Eckerd College’s Leadership Development Institute introduced nationally recognized, assessment-based frameworks that added both depth and rigor to the experience.

“GCLI distinguished itself by being the only leadership training program that truly took a deep dive into me as a leader — how I function, how I communicate, and how I show up in professional and community settings,” shared Chris Pfahler, Vice President of Philanthropy for The Plymouth Harbor Foundation, former Gulf Coast Board member, and GCLI class of 2008 alum. “Even years later, I still draw on the insights and frameworks I developed during that experience. It fundamentally shaped not just how I lead, but how I collaborate and contribute to our community.”

Each year, GCLI brings together a cohort of roughly 25 individuals with varying leadership experience through a competitive selection process. These participants share a commitment to growing how they lead and how they contribute. That depth of experience, reflected across cohorts, has become a defining characteristic of the program. Its impact extends beyond the sessions, equipping participants with a stronger understanding of one another’s work and a foundation for collaboration across sectors and communities. 

“As someone from DeSoto County, the program gave me the opportunity to connect with leaders from across the region, some who became champions for the work happening in my community,” said Ashley Coone, CEO/Co-Founder of Links2Success and GCLI class of 2015 alum. “What began as professional connections quickly grew into genuine friendships. Many of us continued gathering together long after the program ended and we remain connected today.”

Welcoming its twentieth cohort in May 2026, GCLI continues to bring new leaders into a network that extends well beyond the program itself. On the first day of sessions, alumni from the Class of 2025 came to offer a welcome — sharing insight, encouragement, and a sense of connection from the outset. It is a reflection of what the program builds over time: a belief not only in its approach, but in the people drawn to it. More than a professional development program, GCLI creates a space where participants can let their guard down and step into the kind of growth that can only happen in the presence of trust.

“I came in a little skeptical, but the program has a way of lowering your defenses without forcing anything,” said Dan Minor, CEO of Harvest House and GCLI class of 2025 alum. “It gently invites you to build real community, understand yourself more clearly, and grow your capacity to lead with more courage, humility, and care.”

Over two decades, alumni have carried that experience into the places where decisions are made and relationships are built: leading nonprofits, supporting local businesses, serving on boards, and showing up when their communities need them most. 

“I think that kind of leadership is exactly what our region needs: people who are self-aware, collaborative, curious, and committed to the good of the whole community,” Minor shared. “GCLI helps form leaders who know that relationships are not a side benefit of the work. They are the work.”